Tag: diy

I think it’s been a whirlwind of a week, just the last few days even. As you may have read on my last blog post or the made by laura lee newsletter, I am suspending food production for the next few weeks. For the time being, I will not be experimenting with fermented foods either.

It breaks my heart. Really. Why am I not experimenting as well as not selling?

I feel like holding off is the best-case scenario on selling jams, jellies, and sauerkrauts are the safest thing possible. Despite being clean and sanitary beyond normal expectations, I’m a small business and I want to do what’s best for my customers, my own health, and the bigger picture. As far as playing with fermented foods, it’s too dang hard to get my hands on large amounts of produce to ferment. The stores have been baren and farmers’ markets canceled.

So, let’s take a moment to celebrate all the beautiful and delicious veggies that I have been able to transform into probiotic filled food! Sauerkrauts, kimchis, and ginger, oh my! Below is the list with links you can revisit. Thank you so much for your interest in this and I’m looking forward to when I can get back to it! Until then… what should the next Friday blog be? I like this whole themed thing!

It’s my favorite day of the week, Fermentation Friday. Seriously, I can’t tell you how much I look forward to sharing the most recent fermented creation I’ve made. Seeing as I love kimchi, I decided to go with a green bean kimchi. The recipe is based on Kirsten Shockey’s from her Fiery Ferments book. I’ve altered it slightly, and think I will continue to do so as I tweak the recipe to my liking. Mainly, concentrating on making it spicier as this was particularly mild.

Good morning, my apologies for posting a little later than normal, I’ve been pretty busy this morning trying to raise money for ATX Kids Club, a local nonprofit that promotes education through adventure-based learning. Today is the I Live Here I Give Here Amplify Austin Day, which is the largest day of giving here in Austin, TX. If you’re feeling so inclined, by all means, feel free to donate here. No amount is too small.

Now, let’s get down to fermented business…

The day has finally come and I am over the moon to share with you that my first batch of kimchi was a success! Not only a success but the best batch of fermented goodness I’ve made thus far. In fact, I think I’ve eaten a third of it already, with a little help of course. I will most definitely be making another batch of this soon in a matter of days.

Kimchi

2 heads of Napa Cabbage, quartered and chopped in 2″ pieces

2 bunches green onions/scallions, chopped into 1/2″ pieces

1-2 daikon radish, shredded

5 tablespoons ginger, minced

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons of sea salt

3 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons fish sauce (if vegan or vegetarian, just use water and replace with an extra tablespoon of sea salt)

10 tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru)

After chopping cabbage, mix with sea salt to let sweat while prepping all other ingredients.

In a large bowl, then mix all other ingredients and transfer to fermentation crock.

Press mixture down and place weights on top.

Set in a cool, dark place for 1-5 days. (I did the full 5 days)

Make sure to check and turn the kimchi daily with clean hands or utensils.

Note: if you’re wary of anything spicy, do not fear. The brilliant red is deceiving. This is mild in flavor with no zing at all.

I’ve been on a ginger kick lately. It could be the cold weather and fighting this cold. Personally, I think it’s the awesome flavor. You can’t beat the sweet, earthy, and spicy flavor of ginger. While slightly labor intensive, this recipe for fermented ginger is super easy. Peeling and slicing the ginger is the hardest part. Once it’s ready, this fermented ginger is great in stir-fries or steamed rice, and definitely perfect for sushi.

Fermented Ginger

1 pound of ginger, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon sea salt

Slice ginger as thin as thin possible.

In a large bowl, mix the sliced ginger and salt, tossing to make sure every piece is covered.

Transfer salt ginger mixture to jar.

Use a ziplock bag filled with water to weigh down and cover ginger salt mixture.

Set in a cool, dark place for 7-14 days. (I always go with ten).

Make sure to check on ginger and make sure that it stays submerged in brine. You may have to push down.

Well, I’ve admittedly been a little quiet here on the blog front. My apologies. I had a jammed pack week of a grant writing class the week before, followed by the Mother Earth News Fair over the weekend, and this week I have been knocked down by some sort of chest cold. I’m on the mend despite sounding like a barking seal, but I’m excited to share with you my latest fermentation creation.

Note: I made and handled this batch prior to being sick.

This sauerkraut is pretty mild as far as flavor but is great in sandwiches or with fish.

Turmeric Carrot Kraut

1 head of green cabbage, cored & thinly sliced

2 pounds of carrots, shredded

4-6 pieces of turmeric roughly 2-3 inches long, grated

3 TBSP sea salt

Note: make sure the combined weight of the veggies is about 5-6 pounds and make sure EVERYTHING is clean

Slice cabbage in thin chunks.

In small batches, mix salt and cabbage and let salt begin to draw the water out of the cabbage and transfer to the fermentation crock. Then continue to massage and mix the salt/cabbage. Juices will begin to release.

If you have whey from your previous sauerkraut mixture, go ahead and add a tablespoon. If you don’t… don’t worry!

Mix in shredded carrots and turmeric making sure to massage all items together.

Use weight to make sure the cabbage mix is condensed and covered fully by liquid.

Cover your container and set in a cool, dark place for 7-14 days. (I always go with ten).

It is that time again! Seriously, I cannot believe the feedback I’m getting from the fermentation blog posts. I’m so grateful. I’m thoroughly enjoying the recipe experimentation. More importantly, I’m enjoying the health benefits of eating all these delightful fermented treats. I’ve always had a heck of a sweet tooth and I’ve noticed a tremendous decrease in my sugar cravings. Thanks probiotics!

This recipe was totally made up. I’m definitely loving it. Earthy and sweet, with a little bit of bite from all the ginger.

The Purple Darling

2 heads of purple cabbage, cored & thinly sliced

4 medium sized beets, shredded

2 pieces of ginger roughly 2-3 inches long, grated

3 TBSP sea salt

Note: make sure the combined weight of the veggies is about 5-6 pounds and make sure EVERYTHING is clean

Slice cabbage in thin chunks.

In small batches, mix salt and cabbage and let salt begin to draw the water out of the cabbage and transfer to the fermentation crock. Then continue to massage and mix the salt/cabbage. Juices will begin to release.

If you have whey from your previous sauerkraut mixture, go ahead and add a tablespoon. If you don’t… don’t worry!

Mix in shredded beets and ginger making sure to massage all items together.

Use weight to make sure the cabbage mix is condensed and covered fully by liquid.

Cover your container and set in a cool, dark place for 7-14 days. (I always go with ten).

Raising the bar… or at least, trying to. It’s been a little bit of a nutty week over here and I feel like I can’t quite seem to bounce back from last week. Why am I so flustered? Well, my truck got broken into, laptop stolen and much more. As someone that lives out of her laptop between blogs, marketing, social media, editing pictures, etc. it’s been a little bit of a whirlwind with changing passwords, locking screens, and calling all sorts of agencies from banks to the IRS and everything in between.

With all the craziness, I’ve been trying to focus on the things that matter. A laptop and window can be replaced. While the majority of my pictures and documents were online or backed up, some of the most recent work wasn’t. Therefore, I’ve just been focusing on creating new things to share. Some of the images that I can’t get back are the high resolution pictures of this new bar I refinished. I think the iPhone pictures will work for now though.

This little bar cart was a curbside find by it’s current owner. It was in need of some serious structural work, before receiving a light sand and a coat of paint. After the repairs were made, the first coat of paint was applied only to discover Home Depot mixed me the wrong color! Now, knowing that there is no return policy on paint, I decided to improvise and mix what paints I had in the shop instead. I ended up with a cool charcoal grey coated with an ebony stain. A much better fit rather than the vibrant navy that had been first applied. The hardware was upgraded and she was ready to return home!

I sincerely hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday and rang in the New Year surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones. I, myself, had a very quiet holiday and spent it with friends and their family. It was filled with cooking, of course, and a little bit more lazy time than I typically allow myself. 2020 is here though and chomping at the bit so it’s back to “work”.

Besides cooking up a storm and experimenting with new recipes, I’ve been getting a little more time in my shop these past few weeks. While the cooler weather doesn’t necessarily agree with my fingers, some of the pieces that I’ve been completing have got me, let’s say, starry-eyed.

Request for a Galaxy Desk

One of my favorite things about doing custom work is the challenge. It gets my brain going in a different way. When this client approached me about a desk, I was over the moon. She set her parameters: purple and if you can make it galaxy-themed that would be great. Admittedly, a galaxy themed desk wasn’t something I had done before but with a little inventiveness, I think this Facebook Marketplace find that was scuffed up, drab brown, and some minor structural damage is now sturdy, smooth, and a touch over the top. A desk this glam needed a chair to match so I grabbed one from my overstock of chairs and threw some paint and velvet on it… BIG BANG!

Midnight Blue Chair

As I previously mentioned, I have an overstock of chairs in the shop. It’s one of those items that people gift to me to refinish and flip. This particular chair I decided to refinish and give back to the owner this holiday season. Knowing their favorite color was blue made it pretty easy. These chairs are American-made and hard to come by. Oddly enough, it’s the second one to come through my shop. While this one had some chew marks on the legs from a puppy, I chose to sand it down and keep the blemishes as I thought it added character and it’s something for the owner to chuckle at. After, I painted it a deep blue, applied a walnut stain to the exposed wood, and finished it with wax.

If you’re in the Austin area and have a piece of furniture in need of some TLC, don’t hesitate to contact me! I’d love to help.

Chair Sale. That’s right, I said SALE. I’ve never had to have a studio sale but my workspace is flooded with one off chairs. These babies have yet to be refinished. I will finish them to your liking. You can buy one or two or all six. (One chair, Chair 6, is already refinished.)
I’m desperate to make space for some bigger pieces that are needing to be refinished but I can’t do it with these lovelies taking up valuable space.
I will be selling these babies for $50 a piece.
Contact me ASAP to let me know what chair you’d like and how you’d like it. lauralee@madebylauralee.com

With Spring comes glorious blue skies, the occasional rainstorms, blossoming flowers, bustling farmers markets, and of course, allergies, like woah. I’ve spent the last few days laid up in bed wishing I had the slightest urge to, at the very least, to work on some embroidery, but with a few attempts, I found it not possible. I’m starting to come around thanks to truckloads of Zyrtec.

Ok, now that my “wah” fest is over, I wanted to share some new items that I’ve completed since the last blog post. Most have been shared on instagram, but I’ve got a few that haven’t been yet. I’ve got new Easter themed embroidered wall art that I’m particularly pumped about. I haven’t done anything for Easter since my Grandmother passed away. She always had these gorgeous Easter baskets for us, we had egg hunts, and dying eggs! I guess I have been feeling slightly reminiscent. Below that, I’ve got a new veggie embroidered towel, a refinished chair, and my personal favorite, “I will resist.” wall art.